Shattered Illusion
by NocturnesOpus
Summary: I believed them. Every word they uttered. Every declaration made. Every conquest successful. I believed in our cause. I believed in our nation as a whole. Only... Only to see what we really were. Are... Can I. Can I keep doing this? Isn't what we've done right? Or... Or was it all just an illusion.


**A/N: Hello Satoru here. Here's a story that I think would be interesting enough. I like firebenders I really do. But they get so much crap because of people like Azula and Ozai that most see them as bad people (bar Iroha and Zuko). So I'm going to give you guys something along the lines of a struggling fire nation soldier who fights the illusion that his nation put over his eyes and struggles with the concept of good and evil. I really hope you guys like this story. Like really really**

* * *

Shattered Illusion

 _Prelude_

 _Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the nation of which I was born within, the Fire Nation, struck the first the the Air Nomads then the rest of the other nations in a attempt to take over the Bending Countries._

 _Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop us, but he simply vanished. A hundred years have now passed and we have been able to remain dominant among the other nations.  
Through propaganda and other means I have believed that we were doing something right. That we were amazing and completely just. I even ran away from home, changed who I was and even lied about my age to join the military to become the best and serve my nation. _

_I rose among the ranks quickly and was shown to be the best of the best and earn a spot in the personal royal guard.  
I thought that life was good. I thought that everything was done to the highest esteem. But I've lived my life on the battlefield never taking a step into the refugees camps or the captured specifies. I never knew the atrocities that others endured.  
The corruption, the deceit, the hate, the discrimination. All of it... All of it was committed by the Fire Nation. _

_The place that I have held up in so much esteem._

 _The happy illusion that I had envisioned it shattered like glass upon that revelation.  
I now question everything. _

_I question the reason I fought, a reason why I loved this place. Any sort of reason. Some kind of reason that would help me figure out how to justify what I have done. Only to find no answer.  
Now as I sit here writing this. I think it's only fair that I start straight from the beginning of my journey. _

_To tell you of what I have been through. Of the inner turmoil that I have faced of whether_

 _I should desert and join the rebellion against the Fire Nation or simply stay and suffer through it through the false pretense of doing it for my country.  
This is not your average story. This story is about my life, through the hard times and the good times. _

_Through the worse and the terrible. Through the thick and thin. Where a sharp blade of treason is raised high above my head with the words of 'death sentence' written across it.  
My name is Kai and this is my story._

* * *

 _Chapter 1_

 **Two years ago**

" _Who are you?" A voice boomed within the walls of the palace. "Why do you live? Great Agni up in the sky, why are you even here?"_

" _I am a nameless firebender." I answered back. "I live for the sole purpose of protecting my king and his family from outside forces that wish to do them harm. I am here to offer my soul, my mind, and my body to give it all to them and even die for them." When I finish I wince a little bit at the bit of glee that had slithered into my voice as the words that I've been wanting to say my whole life exited passed my lips._

 _I am down upon my knee, fist down onto the ground head bowed as I answered these question, a sort of respectful stance that is used among lower ranked officers to give respect to the older more experienced men. My head is bowed so I can't really tell who the man is nor what he's doing, so to be honest. This was the perfect chance to strike me dead if there were any enemies around._

" _And how do you believe that you'll even make it?" He shot back at me, his voice demanding an answer. "What even qualifies you for being a Royal Guardsmen?_

 _But thankfully I had, had an answer for that. "I have risen among e ranks of the army for the past three years of my life. I have shown outstanding marks upon the battlefield and am feared throughout the nations. I have even earned the title known as Hellfire due to my prowess on the field."_

 _He scoffed at my words. "Titles mean nothing to me or to the family boy." I agreed with him wholeheartedly but I kept my mouth shut. "Is there any recommendations from any of your ranking officers to back up your claims?"_

" _Yes sir." Keep calm man, your almost done. I reached into the pocket of my uniform and pulled out a white envelope holding the recommendation from my general. "This is from General Pai-Lu. General of the seventh battalion."_

 _There is a moment of silence as he was looking over the letter to make sure that it was legit and not a phony. "Has this been forged or tampered with in any way?"_

" _No sir, that is the honest truth from the General himself."_

" _And why should I believe in your words." He asked harshly._

" _There is none. If you don't trust in me, a soldier who had followed each and everyone of his orders, down to the last detail and beyond, then doesn't that show how much of an incompetent leader that makes you, sir." I say, not really regretting my words since the man had questioned my loyalty to the fire nation._

" _Hmph. At least you got some backbone." He grumbled before I heard the ripping of paper as the man opened the letter. After a few seconds of the eternal agony of waiting I heard him clicking his tongue in approval. "My my. Do we have a genius in the room." I can hear the amount of appraisal in his voice. And if I was some other person I would have lit up from excitement after hearing such praise from the man before me. However…_

 _Under my mask I cringed at that word. I really didn't like being called a prodigy or a genius because I know that I can be better. And also because it just reminded me of the home that I left behind. Not that anyone had known about that little detail at the time."No sir, I'm not." I refuted, not able to accept those words._

" _Oh what's this?" He inquired as a mocking tone entered into his voice. "You don't consider yourself a prodigy?"_

" _No sir." Was my immediate response._

" _And why's that? Most would love to hear such words from a high ranking officer."_

 _Didn't I just say that? I mused before replying to him. "Because. For me there is no genius nor prodigiousness thing about myself. Everything I've done from up to right now is based on my own hard work and dedication to what I've done. All of my achievements have been done with my own two hands and even then, there is still room for improvement. I do not find myself worthy of such appreciative titles."_

" _Oh ho ho. Humble are we?"_

" _No, sir. I'm just being honest."_

" _Well then." I felt him moving around me, stalking me like a Lion Dog would do around his prey, waiting to find any sort of weakness before he pounces. Everything about you seems to check out nicely." A pause. "What say you Fire Lord Ozai?"_

 _I was so startled that I broke protocol and looked up at the man. "Fire Lord Ozai?!"_

" _Yes." The way he said it was so simple. Like it was the most obvious statement ever. "Why so startled? You didn't think I was the only one who evaluated recruits into the Royal Guard did you?" Upon my silence he regarded me with a chastising look. "That's very naive of you." He wriggled his finger at me._

" _Oh but Fa-Long. What are you to expect from a child as young as he?" Ozai stated tiredly. "What is he? The Same age of my daughter?_

" _Give or take." Fa-Long shrugged._

 _My whole body is covered with chills, as a cold sweat rolled down my forehead and my mouth went dry. They know? I had thought panicky. How did they know?! I kept it secret! I kept it hidden for so long. How did they figure it out in just 20 freaking minutes?! I was just about to start hyperventilating before I was able to get it under control for a bit, hoping I could play it off cool. "I do-"_

" _Don't play dumb with me boy." The old general spoke with a tone that spoke of no nonsense. "You may have gotten passed the army with those fake credentials, but nothing, and I mean nothing, gets passed me, much less the Fire Lord."_

 _I gulp a bit as that tightening in my stomach comes back full force. The law of lying or distorting the truth to get into the military is considered a high offense and those who do so shall be thrown into prison for life. And with things heading to where they are now, looks like the prison may be the thing he calls home next. "So… What happens to me now?"_

 _The two men looked at each other a contemplating look in there eyes as they pondered my fate. I waited for two minutes as they have their silent talk while the waiting kills me slowly and the pure torture of my unknown future plagues me. Finally, they seem to nod their heads and look at me._

 _"Stand." Fire Lord Ozai barks at me and I scramble to get up. I stand at attention, arms at my side and my eyes squeezed tightly as I really didn't want to see them, my wits almost gone. "Take your helmet off."_

 _Now I'm practically shivering jn fear. A helmet taken off in this way smeant either you're going to be sentenced, or if you're going to be stripped of everything. "My helmet off? Um sir?"_

" _You heard me." Ozai growled. "Take it off now. Or do you want to go to prison for the rest of your life."_

 _I hurriedly take it off and held it off at my side on my hip, my snow white hair falling down over my left eye while the bangs on my right just fall barely on it. A stream of fresh air blasted me in my face cooling me off just a bit. I look into their eyes and see them giving me a contemplating look. A look that made me, uncharacteristically, flinch._

 _Fa-Long spoke first."He's young enough."_

 _Then Ozai answered him. "He's handsome enough." Then he pauses as if struck by a certain thought. "But is he powerful enough?"_

" _Well, according to the records he's pretty capable of handling himself."_

" _Yes that's true and he's also good at not just firebending but also non bending fighting." Ozai pointed out with a nod._

" _Oh," Fa-Long snaps his fingers as a imaginary lantern lit up above his head. "if memory serves correct he also did a few assassination jobs as well as prevented a few of them that could work against assassination attempts."_

" _Yes, this will do perfectly. What say you Fa-Long?"_

" _I agree." The opposing man says, eyeing me as if I'm a piece of meat. "However we shall test him out first to see if he lives up to his reputation."_

" _What do you propose the we shall do then?" He inquired a finger upon his chin._

" _Have him in an Agni Kai against two of my greatest men. If he wins then he's in."_

 _Fire Lord Ozai nods his head eyes gleaming as he considered the idea. "And if he loses he loses both rank and job and will be thrown into prison."_

 _They both nod at the decision and look at me. Which by the time that they finished their exchange, I was so stupefied at what had just happened that I wasn't able to comprehend what to say. I probably resembled something akin to a gaping fish._ What in the name of Agni...?

" _Do you agree with these terms?"_

Ok so did he just seriously ask this? _I asked myself bewildered._ As if I would actually wanna go to jail. Anything would be better than to lose all of that hard work I've had only to go to prison because I wanted to make a difference _(Something I had done splendidly). With a gnawing fear creeping in my heart, I signed my fate with only two words._

" _Yes sir." I nodded, anything would be better than the alternative._

 _Ozai and Fa-Long just gave me a devilish smile as they look at me in with predatory eyes._

Why do I feel like I've been played?

 **PRESENT TIME**

"Jeez, can't believe how long it's been since then." I yawned as I look out across the icy landscape and ocean of the Northern Waters.

"What was that you said, Lord Kai." A voice spoke from next to me. I turned to see the general of the battleship. He was a burly man of about some 30 years with long black hair peppered with gray that's in a long ponytail and a short goatee. He was quite muscular with a frame taller than my own.

"Oh, nothing General Ping." I answered back. "Though.. I do wish you people would stop calling me Lord. I am not anything of the sort."

"Well I'm pretty sure that the Personal Guard of the Royal Prince and Princess of the Fire Nation deserves a bit, or perhaps, all of the respect for the position given to you." He responded a bit of praise in his eyes as he looked at me. Probably this about how a kid like me could have made it this far ahead while he was still a general (his literal words to me later when I had asked him later).

I rolled my eyes at that. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Rank doesn't determine title. Hard work deserves title. And by far I haven't deserved it yet."

The man snorted at that. " _Lord_ Kai." Oh that man. "I'm pretty sure, and I speak for all of the soldiers and Fire Nation when I say this, that you deserve that title more than any of us." And with that he walked off, barking a few orders at the crew as we head for the Northern Water Tribe.

As I looked off into the distance I can see the icy fortress of the Northern people and I just got this sickening feeling in my stomach that something bad was gonna happen. It was a feeling of death, but not just any kind of one. It was kinda hard to explain. I just knew.

And there will be hell to pay when that happens.


End file.
